Zucchini Fritters

Zucchini fritters always remind me of being a kid. Playing in the backyard in the summer months whether it was through the sprinkler or just throwing the ball around or getting chased by our dog, and coming in to a stack of these which were waiting for us to snack on. We loved them!

My dad was and is an avid gardener. Since his knee replacement happened during gardening prep time, his garden this year is pretty much non existent other than garlic and the odd strawberry and raspberry. But in the past it’s been loaded with peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, chives, onions, garlic just to name a few. There was always so much zucchini small and large. We would eat it slice and grilled, pan fried and in these delicious fritters. We had some extra from a recipe I was making with them and I thought to make them with my mom for old time sake, plus they are delicious and I could finally nail down a measured recipe for you all.

The most important thing when it comes to making the fritters with zucchini is making sure you have almost no moisture left in them so be prepared to use some muscles when prepping these little guys. I usually wring them out by hand first and then use paper towels to wring then out dry as well. Too much moisture means soggy fritters and you don’t want that. Some people like to sweat them by adding a little salt and letting them sit for 20 minutes as the salt draws out moisture and then you rinse and wring them out. I do either but I find that that last few time I made them I didn’t want to wait the 20 minutes so I skip this step and they turn out pretty much the same as when I sweat the zucchini so it’s really up to you if you want to add that extra step.

We use to eat these plain with maybe a bit of feta but I thought I would pair these babies with some tzatziki which is light and delicious and pairs so well with the fritters. You really can use any dipping sauce you like though I’m just a bit partial to the tzatziki. How to make a delicious and simple tzatziki? Follow along below for that recipe. If you don’t know what tzatziki is it’s a Greek style garlic sauce with a yoghurt base that is soo fabulous I could eat it by the spoonful and on pretty much anything! Be warned it’s very garlicky and delicious and you might need to plan you social life around eating it. Hee hee!

The fritters themselves are light and so flavourful being packed with the fresh herbs and seasonings. They make great appetisers and perfect dippers. I know you will love this super simple recipe for both the fritters and the tzatziki. Enjoy!

Recipe

Ingredients

4 cups grated/shredded zucchini about 2-3 medium

5 tbsp of all purpose flour plus more if needed and also to dust with, which is optional (see notes)

2 large eggs whisked

½ tsp onion powder

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼-½ tsp black pepper

¼ cup chopped parsley

¼ cup chopped fresh dill

¼ cup chopped fresh mint

2 scallions chopped finely

1 small onion chopped very finely (optional)

2-3 tbsp of olive oil or coconut oil

Directions

Once your zucchini is grated squeeze/wring out the water from it using paper towels, or a clean dish towel or cheesecloth. This is a very important step to avoid soggy fritters. Squeeze out as much water as possible, then squeeze one more time for good measure.

In a large bowl, mix together the ‘dry’ zucchini, flour (see notes), eggs, onion powder, garlic powder, scallions, onions if using, all the fresh herbs and pepper and just a pinch of salt as salt will draw more water from the zucchini. (I usually sprinkle a little salt on them after they come out of the frying pan not before)

Heat a large skillet over medium heat (non-stick is helpful), then add 1 Tbsp of olive oil or coconut or or cooking fat of choice (you’ll use 1 Tbsp per batch)

Scoop the mixture in a heaping Tbsp, roll into a ball and then flatten in your hands to make a patty (you can use a cookie scoop for consistency as well). Dust with flour and it’s ready to be pan fried (this is optional)

Gently place them into the hot skillet and then gently press down to flatten further with a wide spatula. Pan fry until golden brown approx 2-3 minutes and then carefully flip using a wide spatula. Fry on the second side another 2-3 minutes until golden brown, lowering heat a bit if necessary.

When done, carefully remove to a wire rack while you make additional batches.

Make sure to check and adjust heat between batches if necessary to avoid burning the fritters, and add an additional Tbsp of oil before each new batch.

Serve hot with your favourite dipping sauce - I’m partial to serving them with tzatziki and have included the recipe below and I know you will love it. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

&ast; Depending on how moist the zucchini mixture is you may need to add a little extra flour. Basically you want your mixture to hold like you would when making meatballs. If it’s not holding sprinkle on extra flour a tablespoon at a time until mixture holds together.

Tzatziki Recipe

Ingredients

1 whole 750 gram container of yoghurt strained over night (I layer a cheese cloth or a few layers of paper towels onto a metal sieve over a bowl then add the yogurt and cover with plate or plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight)

½-1 cucumber peeled, large seeds scooped out grated and water thoroughly squeezed or wrung out of it using paper towels or clean dish towel or cheesecloth

2 cloves of garlic grated more to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Juice of ½ lemon plus more for taste

1 tbsp of olive oil plus a little extra to drizzle over when serving

Extras I like to add to my tzatziki but are optional: chopped fresh mint or dill to taste

Directions

In a large bowl combine all ingredients and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add more lemon juice for a bit more zing and more garlic for a more intensely garlicky tzatziki. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.